Enterprise telephony systems such as private branch exchange (PBX) systems typically have a rich set of features over and above basic telephony functions. One such feature is the capability of one user being able to make calls on behalf of another user or entity. In a common scenario, a member of a huntgroup or distribution-group (e.g., a network helpdesk) makes or receives two-party and multi-party calls and conferences on behalf of the huntgroup or distribution group. Internet protocol (IP) office communication systems can enable the aforementioned scenarios in enterprise voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony systems in which audio/video calls are signaled using a session initiation protocol (SIP).
Busy executives can delegate communication needs to assistants who take care of answering and filtering calls based on priority and relevance. The assistant can also make calls and participate in conferences on behalf of the executive, thus saving the executive time and complexity. In such cases the assistant is acting as a representative of the executive. However, typical PBX telephony systems do not convey this representation to remote parties involved in the conversation. It can be the case that appropriate importance and association is not given to the assistant's call by other parties, for example, ignoring an important, time-sensitive call and allowing the call to be routed to voice mail. This can create difficulty for the executive seeking to delegate communication chores to the assistant.
A similar problem can occur in a huntgroup such as the helpdesk or the finance department of a company, for example, in which many people can answer calls directed to that huntgroup. A person responding to a call to the huntgroup is representing the huntgroup during the call. However, if the person at a later time wants to make a follow up call, typical telephony systems do not enable the person to be identified to the call party as a representative of the huntgroup when calling from the person's own personal line, which can also result in difficulty for a time-sensitive call.